TITLE:
Safety Teams in Houses of Worship: Why Leaders Hesitate to Have Them?
AUTHORS:
Norman W. Dofflemyer
KEYWORDS:
House of Worship, Risk Management, Safety Team, Security, Spiritual Leaders
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.15 No.12,
December
4,
2025
ABSTRACT: Incidents of violence in houses of worship in the United States have increased over the last ten years. Many houses of worship have implemented security or safety teams to protect their organizations. Some houses of worship have gone beyond using a security team and have developed safety teams. A safety team aims to mitigate the effects of an active shooter. The team training includes assisting the organization with emergencies that are more likely to occur, such as medical emergencies, natural disasters, and suspicious activity on campus. However, many houses of worship have not established an organized safety team to protect against disruptions to their organizations’ reputation, productivity, and financial stability. This qualitative single-case study aimed to understand why spiritual leaders have hesitated or failed to establish safety teams to prevent, mitigate, or minimize the impact of violence and other unexpected incidents at their places of worship. The findings of this study relate to the safety of a house of prayer and to general leadership practices applicable to any organization.